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breastfeeding twins 1 not gaining weight cross post

Hello I am hoping that someone can help me with this problem. Brief history I had my twin boys at 36 weeks on 6/14 Tommy was 6 lbs 8oz and Liam was 6 lbs 14oz. because they were still losing weight at 9 days and very jaundice the doctor told me to supplement. So I did the next day my dad died suddenly so the boys were 50/50 breast and bottle fed. Once things settled down at around 5 weeks I went to breast only at their 2 month checkup T was 9lbs and L was 9lbs 14 oz. I nurse them on demand on one side they had been nursing for about 30 minutes each. Tommy does not seem to be gaining weight (now we have not been back to the doctor but I have weighed him with me on a digital scale). Liam however is gaining. Tommy is very active and has been rolling for awhile along with holding his head and chest up for several weeks now where as Liam has just started to to as much as Tommy in the last week to 10 days.

What can I do to help Tommy gain weight? I was wondering if I should nurse Liam first on both sides and then let Tommy nurse on both sides 2nd so that he gets more of the hind milk. I am taking Fenugreek to increase my supply but I don't really thing that is an issue.

Thank you for your advice.
Melissa

PS... Oh am I the only woman in the world who is NOT losing weight while breast feeding? I am gaining.

Hi - I don't have any great advice since I wasn't able to breastfeed, but just wanted to say I'm so sorry about your dad. What a horrible thing to have to go through anytime - let alone with newborn twins.

Also - I'd ask your pediatrician what he/she thinks. He would be able to tell you what normal growth is - maybe it's normal for some kids to go through periods where they aren't gaining and then go through growth spurts. If they are concerned, then they can offer advice on what to do, too.

Is he happy? having plenty of wet diapers?? Poopy diapers? I would take him to the ped to weigh on that scale. As long as he seems to be nursing satisfactorily---for reasonable times, latching well, and not having diarrhea or fevers or something else abnormal, I would guess that he's ok. I would let him nurse first in the early morning sessions when your supply is the best. I only nursed one of mine and pumped for the other. Another idea would be to offer him some formula after nursing, to see if he takes it at all---/ good luck, and so very sorry to hear of your Dad's passing so suddenly.

My advice would be to call the pedi's office and see if you can do a weight check on the boys, with a nurse. Then from there, you'll know if it's an issue or not. Twins will do milestones at different times. My boys were about a month to 6wks apart at times. We just had to realize they will do it in there own time.

as for things to help increase supply, oatmeal is good for them...in any form. So for breakfast or whatever, it helps. At least it did for me.
Hang in There!!! You're doing a great job!!

I can't really help because I wasn't exclusively breast feed. I gave them EBM w/ formula. My one DD E has been smaller since day 1 (9 oz smaller @ birth). She is still 2-3 lbs smaller than her sis. The pedi keeps telling me that's she's ok, but I've taken my own steps to help her gain weight (Like high calorie formulas & now pediasure). She's still SKINNY! I think some kids just are naturally skinny & there's nothing wrong as long as they're meeting their milestones.

On loosing wt though. I really watched what I ate while BFding. The OB told me that I could pump between feedings in the beginning to help w/ loosing wt. I would eat very little not on purpose, but because I was alone & didn't have help since DH was out of town. It really sucked & those were the darkest days of my life, but I did loos a good 25 lbs. I would just say eat healthy (no heavy foods & stuff) & try to BF as much as you can.. G/L

Just wanted to say that I think the losing weight while breastfeeding thing may be a myth/propaganda. I gave up on breastfeeding after three weeks and lost all the weight within three months - by six months I was 10 pounds lighter than when I got pregnant. I didn't make a conscious effort to diet or exercise, I just lost it naturally. A lot of the women I knew who were bfing didn't lose a lot of weight or gained until their babies were nursing less. I wonder if your body holds onto weight while you're nursing because it wants reserves in case something happens.

In any case, I wouldn't drive myself crazy about it right now. You'll have plenty of time to lose the weight later. I gave myself permission to just not worry about it until my girls were a year old (and, of course, by then, I had lost it all anyways).

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